What I would have given to have heard the internal discussion at Microsoft about Mattrick...

It's so obvious he was given the choice of leaving gracefully on his own terms or outright fired by MS. No exec with a brain would leave a high profile situation like his at MS to go to a dying company that everyone despises.

remember when failing at something use to have consequences? In the corporate world it just doesnt seem to be the case above a certain level, but understanding this does go a long way in explaining why this world is as messed up as it is.

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Although, to be fair, Mattrick has been head of that division since 2005 (7? Can't remember). Since that time, the 360 has been extremely successful. A lot of companies probably were vying for Mattrick, especially because he could probably be had on the cheap after the One fiasco.

So I looked over his history, and the guy has some serious skills in game development, way before he became an executive. While I think MS may have lost some serious talent, even he is replaceable it seems.

That's a fun narrative. It's the narrative that's probably going to be adopted in most quarters - the specialist gaming press and the business press alike. Mattrick's departure is going to be irrevocably pegged to the huge backlash against Xbox One - and there's some truth in that association, but not enough truth to count as actually being true. Step back for a second. Does anyone really think that a senior, superbly wealthy executive has a bad show at E3, hits the phones and organises a new CEO gig at a multi-billion dollar company to parachute himself into in the space of less than a month? As much as it's a great story to tell - Mattrick fired for Xbox One's failures, quickly lining up a new role to make it all look better to the world - it's clearly, patently not accurate.

That's a fun narrative. It's the narrative that's probably going to be adopted in most quarters - the specialist gaming press and the business press alike. Mattrick's departure is going to be irrevocably pegged to the huge backlash against Xbox One - and there's some truth in that association, but not enough truth to count as actually being true. Step back for a second. Does anyone really think that a senior, superbly wealthy executive has a bad show at E3, hits the phones and organises a new CEO gig at a multi-billion dollar company to parachute himself into in the space of less than a month? As much as it's a great story to tell - Mattrick fired for Xbox One's failures, quickly lining up a new role to make it all look better to the world - it's clearly, patently not accurate.

I'm not sure why that's not possible. There was plenty of time for the powers that be at MS to tell Mattrick he was on his way out and for him to have a couple of meetings (it's not like these folks don't have lunches all the time, keeping their possibilities in check), including one with an already desperate company, then firm up a deal and shake hands on it. That happens all the time. It's likely that Mattrick was seeing the writing on the wall and was getting a trigger oiled to pull.

The alternate side seems less likely to me. That he chose this timing? Why on earth would he do that? It doesn't put him, the company he is leaving or his new company in a good light. It would be absolutely the worst time to choose to make this move.

That's a fun narrative. It's the narrative that's probably going to be adopted in most quarters - the specialist gaming press and the business press alike. Mattrick's departure is going to be irrevocably pegged to the huge backlash against Xbox One - and there's some truth in that association, but not enough truth to count as actually being true. Step back for a second. Does anyone really think that a senior, superbly wealthy executive has a bad show at E3, hits the phones and organises a new CEO gig at a multi-billion dollar company to parachute himself into in the space of less than a month? As much as it's a great story to tell - Mattrick fired for Xbox One's failures, quickly lining up a new role to make it all look better to the world - it's clearly, patently not accurate.

I'm not sure why that's not possible. There was plenty of time for the powers that be at MS to tell Mattrick he was on his way out and for him to have a couple of meetings (it's not like these folks don't have lunches all the time, keeping their possibilities in check), including one with an already desperate company, then firm up a deal and shake hands on it. That happens all the time. It's likely that Mattrick was seeing the writing on the wall and was getting a trigger oiled to pull.

The alternate side seems less likely to me. That he chose this timing? Why on earth would he do that? It doesn't put him, the company he is leaving or his new company in a good light. It would be absolutely the worst time to choose to make this move.

Steve Ballmer is about to announce one of the most drastic reorgs of Microsoft in the company's history. No way was this departure about the E3 showing, this was in the works weeks before E3 started (would have to be for the kind of legal bullshit that surrounds a hire of this stature). This was a pre-emptive move on the part of Mattrick.

Doubtful. This move has likely been in the works for months. I also suspect that the unveiling wasn't considered a flop by MS, at least not at the time. They weren't targeting gamers with that event, they were targeting mass media.

I see it as a combination of both things. That there likely was a planned reorganization, but that the massive embarrassment that was the XBone reveal hastened his retreat, that he saw his time limited at the company and started to count his cards. Had the XBone been well received, it likely would have been a different story and he'd had gone on to perhaps be promoted during a reorganization. The two situations aren't exclusive to each other. After how the XBone was received, as someone pointed out, he likely saw the writing on the wall and knew that even if he were personally cleared, that he wouldn't be moving up all that much from where he was.

No, the deal was all but signed, sealed and delivered before that. The reorg Ballmer announced as far back as last October was basically going to hem Mattrick into a role with zero upward progression already- he's known that for months. It's also pretty well known that EA was courting him for the CEO role too. The biggest indicator of MS not being the motivating force behind this move is the fact they haven't announced his replacement and that the team will be reporting directly to Ballmer for the time being.

What we saw from Mattrick during the reveal and E3 was more likely a case of "short-timer's disease"- he just didn't care as much anymore since he was already on the way out.

Ballmer will continue as CEO and will lead Microsoft through the next steps of its transformation to a devices and services company that empowers people for the activities they value most.

This has always been their albatross. I have an old HD Zune at home collecting dust that I'm going to save as a potential tech relic. They were doing well when people were willing to pay for their incremental OS and MS office updates every few years.

I had a Zune as well. I think they got a bad rap. Every time I have to use that god-awful POS called iTunes, I question people's sanity about why iPods were so much better. Unfortunately Microsoft was just behind the curve on music devices (and now phones).

I had a Zune as well. I think they got a bad rap. Every time I have to use that god-awful POS called iTunes, I question people's sanity about why iPods were so much better. Unfortunately Microsoft was just behind the curve on music devices (and now phones).

itunes is definitely better than what comes with Windows Phone 8

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Because I can,also because I don't care what you want.XBL: OriginalCeeKayWii U: CeeKay

really dislike itunes and it was one of the reason I jumped to Android when I could. Amazon and Google Play options are much more friendlier and easier to use. Also. itunes run like shit on my gaming rig

I had a Zune as well. I think they got a bad rap. Every time I have to use that god-awful POS called iTunes, I question people's sanity about why iPods were so much better. Unfortunately Microsoft was just behind the curve on music devices (and now phones).

iTunes sucks, but the interface of the iPod is light years ahead of the Zune in ease-of-use. My dad got a Zune a few years back and it took me a ridiculous amount of time to figure out how to do the simplest things.

Ballmer will continue as CEO and will lead Microsoft through the next steps of its transformation to a devices and services company that empowers people for the activities they value most.

This has always been their albatross. I have an old HD Zune at home collecting dust that I'm going to save as a potential tech relic. They were doing well when people were willing to pay for their incremental OS and MS office updates every few years.

That's going to bode well considering their previous success with consumer devices. Yep. They should have an easy time overtaking Apple!

They really are better as a software company, and I think that's what they should stick with and leave out the subscription BS.

I had a Zune as well. I think they got a bad rap. Every time I have to use that god-awful POS called iTunes, I question people's sanity about why iPods were so much better. Unfortunately Microsoft was just behind the curve on music devices (and now phones).

itunes is definitely better than what comes with Windows Phone 8

Because drag and drop through File Explorer is hard? At least it doesn't hose my system regularly like iTunes.